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Friday, March 25, 2011

Prince Harry to join Walking with the Wounded Expedition to the North Pole, 29th March - 5th April

Prince Harry will join a team of wounded military servicemen at the start of their expedition to trek unaided to the Geographic North Pole. The Prince - Patron of the charity Walking with the Wounded - will join the group at their base camp in Longyearbyen, north Norway on 29th March, where he will undertake three days of training with the team. The Prince will then trek with the team for five days as they commence their expedition high above the Arctic Circle. Prince Harry will depart the ice on 5th April, to return to the United Kingdom for continued military training.
The Walking with the Wounded team includes four wounded soldiers, who have suffered life-changing injuries during active service, including two amputees. They will be accompanied by two expedition leaders and a Norwegian polar guide. Their four week expedition will see the team covering up to 200 miles of the frozen Arctic Ocean by foot, pulling their own equipment in sleds weighing in excess of 100kg and in temperatures that can drop to minus 60.

The Walking with the Wounded Expedition supports other charities that help injured soldiers rebuild their lives. The money raised from this expedition will be used for educational courses and training programmes to aid rehabilitation back into ordinary life.

Notes to editors
Prince Harry is currently training to be an Apache Helicopter pilot with the Army Air Corps.
The Walking with the Wounded Expedition Team includes Afghanistan veterans Captain Martin Hewitt (30), Captain Guy Disney (28), Sergeant Steve Young (28) and Private Jaco Van Gass (24). The team will be accompanied by Inge Solheim (Expedition Leader), Henry Cookson (Polar Guide), Edward Parker (Expedition Founder) and Simon Dalglish (Expedition Founder).